Rebooting, British style

When it comes to rebooting, the British are just as good at it as the Americans.

An article in The Sunday Times of March 2, headlined “Starting a business at retirement age,” says “There is no age limit to setting up in business to exploit your experience. The golden rule is to do something you enjoy.”

The article tells the story of several rebooters, including Rayment Kirby, who started his own business making cameras from traditional designs when he was in his sixties. Now 75, he makes a range of modernized versions of traditional camera designs by hand in his home workshop in Heathfield, East Sussex. He sells them at the auction house Christies and on his own website, www.raymentkirbycameras.co.uk.

Frances Kay, editor of a publication called The Good Non-Retirement Guide, says more and more older people are setting up businesses. “They are doing it because at a certain stage in life they want autonomy and they don’t necessarily want to be working in an organisation for someone who is half their age,” Kay says. “People are living longer and are healthier so you probably have 25 years between 55 and 80 when you can get a heck of a lot done. There is a lot you can achieve and it can be hugely satisfying.”

Colin Weatherspoon, chief executive of Cobweb Information, a research firm providing information for startups, says, “Consultant-type businesses are a popular choice. Social enterprises and charities are also common – anything that involves advice… There is a market out there for experience.”

You can read the complete article at http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/entrepreneur/article3465326.ece